Painful Reality
by Laurzie
Summary: Four years after the fall of Yu Yevon, Tidus returns to Spira. However, everything is not what he had anticipated them to be... (Mystery couplings. Hey, I can't give the whole story away, can I?)
1. Wakka and Lulu

Author's Notes: As stated in the summary, this takes place four years after the gang defeats Yevon. Therefore, Tidus and Yuna are 21, Rikku is 19, Wakka is 27, and Lulu is 26. (Don't know how old Kimahri is, but you get the idea, right?)  
  
As you all know, I don't own any of the characters; they belong to Squaresoft, yada yada yada. I did, however, create Chappu (not Wakka's brother, baka), Raia, Vivia, and whoever else might pop up later on. Please do not use them at all. Thank you. ^^  
  
This is my first attempt at a Final Fantasy X fanfic, so please don't be too harsh. *laughs* Yes, the title sucks…I'm bad at titles, gimme a break. XD  
  
EDIT: Reuploaded AGAIN…sorry about all of the crappy mistakes…didn't realize how weird FF.net was with Word files…I converted it to HTML, so it better work now. -_-;;  
  
~*~*~  
  
Tidus groaned and shielded his eyes from the light. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness he sat up, observing the area around him. It seemed to be a beach of some sorts. _I'm not in the Farplane anymore, that's for sure…_  
  
His heart skipped a beat. _Does that mean that I'm alive again? Err, not that I was alive in the first place…_ Despite being alive or not, he felt excited. I can see Yuna and the others again…!  
  
"Hey!" he called out. "Hey! Anybody out there? Hellooooooooooooooooooooo!"  
  
He felt disgruntled when all he saw was sand and water. The young man looked behind him to see a familiar treasure chest. _Wasn't that where we found the Moon Crest? Wait…that means…_  
  
"Besaid!" he voiced aloud gleefully. He was more than happy to dive into the water and swim his way to the main beach, all the while with a smile on his face.  
  
Despite spending so long in the Farplane, he was still as agile and strong as he was when he was a Guardian. It didn't take him long to reach the beach, and when he had emerged from the water, he was amazed at how empty it was.  
  
He looked over at the pier. The S.S. Liki wasn't docked there, but it could have been traveling to or coming back from Kilika. The Besaid Aurochs, the local blitzball team, weren't practicing on the shore. The usual crowd of youngsters wasn't running around and goofing off.  
  
Tidus scratched his head in confusion. "Maybe they're all resting," he told himself, though he had to admit that it was a stupid reason. He placed his fists on his hips. "Well, there's only one way to find out!" The blonde boy squared his shoulders and began to march the familiar path to the village.  
  
Another skill that hadn't diminished in the Farplane was his ability to fight, and for that he was glad. Though he was positive that he wouldn't have had trouble with the Water Flans and Dingoes anyway, he was relieved that his trusty Caladbolg had been with him.  
  
Within a matter of minutes, Tidus had reached the village. He breathed a sigh of relief as it appeared to be the Besaid he remembered. _I guess that no one wanted to go to the beach today,_ he rationalized. His eyes scanned the area, and he grinned as they fell on Wakka's hut. _I wonder how the big guy is doing…I think I'll have to pay him a visit._  
  
"Heyyyy!" he called as he approached. He didn't hear any response and frowned. He opened his mouth to call out again but stopped as he heard voices.  
  
"…think they're going to do well this year. The boys work really hard, ya?"  
  
"Do you think that they'll be able to bring home the trophy for the fifth year straight?" a feminine voice teased.  
  
_Aha…I knew they would get together,_ Tidus thought with a satisfied grin. He always sensed a bond between Wakka and Lulu; he just didn't know how strong of a bond it was. He supposed that it was another one of his "feelings."  
  
The young man decided to make his presence known. "Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully, walking into the hut.  
  
Wakka and Lulu's heads snapped to attention at the familiar voice. Simultaneously, their faces turned pale, and their mouths gaped open. Tidus laughed good-naturedly. "What's the matter? You guys act like you've seen the ghost of Omega or something."  
  
"Tidus?" Wakka squeaked out, looking a bit spooked. "What are you…how are you…?"  
  
"How did you get back?" finished Lulu with a bewildered expression on her face.  
  
He shrugged and grinned boyishly. "To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea. But it's great to see you guys again! How long has it been?"  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence. "Four years," Lulu responded quietly.  
  
Tidus flinched and took a step back, as though someone struck at him. "Four…years…?" he repeated to himself. "Damn…" He hadn't bothered to care about how much time passed while he was in the Farplane — he couldn't have, really, since he would be stuck there for eternity anyway. "…Damn," he repeated. Everything must have changed…  
  
He looked over at Wakka first. The man's appearance had not changed much. He still insisted on wearing the uniform of the Besaid Auroch's, and his hair was still up in its…unique style. His face still had some stubble on it. Truthfully, the only difference in his appearance was that he looked a bit older.  
  
His head turned slightly to observe Lulu. If he hadn't had heard her talking, he wouldn't have known it was her. The former Guardian had let her hair down, literally. Gentle waves of black cascaded freely down her back. Gone was the outfit he was so used to seeing her wear. Instead, she had on a simple and flowing black dress with sleeves that came to the end of her shoulder. On her feet (he had just then noticed that he never saw what kind of shoes she wore) were simple black sandals. She also seemed a bit…rounder than he remembered her to be. Her appearance and the air around her seemed to be a lot less intimidating. _Wakka must have been a good influence,_ he reasoned.  
  
Wakka cleared his throat. "So, uh, what have you been up to?" he asked lamely. Tidus could tell that the man thought the question was absurd; after all, how much could a person do on the Farplane?  
  
"Well…catching up with my old man, talking with Braska and Auron, reuniting with Mom…" He shrugged and joked, "You know, the usual. And how about you two? What've you been up to?"  
  
For the first time ever he caught the exchange of genuine smiles between the two, the kind that bonded two lovers together. Wakka reached out to hold her hand. "Lu and I have been married for four years…the wedding was a month after we defeated Yevon, ya?"  
  
The smile remained on the black mage's face. "About five months after, our first son was born…"  
  
"Wait a minute," Tidus interrupted. He tried to put the facts together. "So six months after we defeated Sin, you guys had a kid? Either it was premature or you two did something that no one else knew about…"  
  
Wakka coughed and both blushed. "Ahh…you see…remember when we spent such a long time in the Calm Lands before going to Mount Gagazet?" he began. Tidus nodded to confirm this. "Well…" He looked at Lulu and grinned, a little embarrassedly.  
  
"I take that back, I don't want to know," Tidus retorted. Though he had thought they had some sort of fling, he didn't need it to be recounted for him. "So how many…kids do you have?"  
  
"Three," responded Lulu. "We named our first son Chappu…in his honor." The young man didn't need to know any more reason why. "The next is our daughter Raia…she is two years younger than Chappu. Vivia is a year younger than Raia…"  
  
"And we're expecting a fourth," Wakka said with a grin, placing a hand on his wife's rounded stomach. She blushed a little.  
  
"Geez, you two were busy," commented Tidus bluntly. The couple chuckled nervously. "So where's—"  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence. At that moment, a cry arouse from one of the small divided sections of the hut. Lulu started to stand, but Wakka held out his hand to stop her. "I'll take care of it, ya?" he told her. He caught Tidus's eye. "That would be Vivia…" He rose and headed towards the section.  
  
Tidus had to refrain from snorting with laughter when he heard the way Wakka was talking. It was so…not Wakka. He sounded like one of those perfect father figures that he had always wanted. He couldn't help but feel jealous of their kids.  
  
He gulped, trying to regain his composure. "Um, so…Lulu, where's Yuna?"  
  
The woman's face fell at the mention of the name. She was silent for an unbelievably long time. "Why do you ask?" she asked.  
  
He gave her a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?" "Come on, Lulu. You should've known better than anyone about how close the two of us were. I want to be able to see her again…"  
  
"I'm…not sure where she is," Lulu responded slowly.  
  
Tidus had a feeling that she was hiding something. "You mean that you don't make sure she's safe?"  
  
"We aren't her Guardians anymore, Tidus," Wakka's bride responded with her former attitude coming back into play. "We don't keep tabs on her wherever she goes. She's old enough to take care of herself. And in case you haven't noticed, Wakka and I have our own lives to live…raising soon-to-be four kids isn't easy. Add that to protecting Yuna and it's downright chaotic."  
  
He cringed at her scolding. "I guess you're right," he responded dejectedly. With a sigh, he said, more of a statement than a question, "So you don't know where she is."  
  
Lulu shook her head. "No, I don't…but perhaps Rikku does."  
  
"Okay, great. Where can I find Rikku?"  
  
"She's most likely with the other Al Bhed, trying to build a new Home," Wakka's voice interrupted. He came out, gently carrying a two-year-old girl with black hair. Vivia's large brown eyes regarded Tidus with curiosity. "You can probably catch the airship the next time it comes here," he advised. "It comes once every two weeks for trading purposes."  
  
Tidus looked up at the former blitzer. "Thanks…"  
  
"In the mean time, you can stay here," the man went on. "There's no sense in filling up the Crusaders' lodge when we have room, ya?"  
  
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude or anything…"  
  
Wakka waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, brudda. We don't get visitors here that often. The pleasure's all ours."  
  
"Thanks," Tidus found himself saying again. Then, grinning jokingly, he asked, "When's dinner?"  
  
---  
  
"One thousand, ten hundred and twenty-one…"  
  
Tidus sighed impatiently. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while; he was thinking about Yuna. Why wouldn't Lulu tell him where Yuna was? Wakka wouldn't budge, either. The only little bit of information was what he got out of Chappu, who said something about not seeing "Aunt Yunie" for a long time.  
  
He shuddered. _I hope she hasn't died…but if she did, certainly I would have seen her on the Farplane?_  
  
He sat up in the bed that was provided for him. "Maybe if I take a walk I can get my mind off of things," he muttered. Slowly he rose to his feet and started out of the room, towards the entrance of the hut.  
  
He stopped briefly in front of Wakka and Lulu's section of the hut. Not being one for respecting privacy, he peeked in.  
  
Both were in a deep slumber. The man had pulled his wife into an embrace, and both were smiling blissfully. Again, Tidus found himself feeling jealous, and his heart ached to see Yuna even more.  
  
Defeated, he turned away with a sigh and started off on his walk.  
  
---  
  
"You take care, ya?" Wakka called to Tidus as the blonde boarded the Al Bhed airship.  
  
Tidus rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, sir!" he responded with a mock salute. He grinned as he saw Chappu and Raia waving excitedly at him and waved back. Vivia had fallen asleep in her mother's arms.  
  
_I wonder if Cid's on the ship?_ mused the boy. He turned, stepping inside.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Comments and constructive criticism are welcome. I'm sorry if the characters are a wee bit/a lot OOC…I promise the next chapter will be slightly more interesting. ^_^;;  
  
~ Laurzie ~ 


	2. Al Bhed

Author's Notes: Again, I don't own any of the characters.  Squaresoft has 'em copyrighted "the things and the stuff", quote my choir director.  However, Kaisa and Rylen are MY creations.  DO NOT take any of them or you'll suffer a slow, painful death.  Thank you.

Note that, since this chapter centers on the Al Bhed (hence the name ;P), there is a LOT of Al Bhed in it.  I feel that translating the sentences right in the story takes away from it, so if you're unfortunate enough to not know Al Bhed, there's a link in the reviews. ;) (Or you can just go to Google and look it up.)  I'm sorry, I know that translating is a bitch, but I didn't want to take away from the wonderful language. D  (EDIT: I fixed all of the Al Bhed mistakes! W00T!)

Also, I wanted to say thank you to those of you who left reviews.  I'm glad you guys liked it! ^^  Sorry this installment took so long to crank out…I've been a little busy with RL activities and trying to plan out another story.  (And the fact that I'm a horrible procrastinator…erm, anyway…)

~*~*~

            "Hold it! Is that who I think it is?"

            "Ed lyh'd pa...yna oui cina oui ynah'd esykehehk drehkc?"

            Tidus looked back at the conversing Al Bhed, curiously wondering what they could be talking about.  _It's really not my business,_ a voice in the back of his head nagged.  _Still, it's not like they can't ever talk like normal people for once._

            He turned his head back around, trying to remember where the bridge was.  _This isn't as familiar as I thought it'd be…_

            "Kad res!!"

            He suddenly stumbled, getting pulled backwards.  "Ooof!  Hey!  What's the big idea!?"  Tidus growled, but his face went from anger to pain as one of the Al Bhed twisted his arm.  He bit his lip and tried his hardest not to cry out.

            "Ec drec dra uha dryd High Summoner Yuna cbuga ypuid?" questioned a feminine voice.  Tidus looked up briefly to see the speaker.  He guessed that she was close to his height and age.  She, unlike the other Al Bhed, didn't cover her eyes with her goggles.  Instead, they were pushed up on her forehead, keeping some of her unruly blonde hair out of her face.  The wavy mane fell to her midback.  Her outfit, like many other Al Bheds', had a variety of buckles on it.

            He realized he was staring and immediately blurted out, "Did you say Yuna?  Where is she?  Where can I find her!?"

            "Cemahla!"  The Al Bhed who was twisting his arm gave an extra shove to his back.  The boy winced and bit down on his lip, holding back the tears that were gathering in the corners of his eyes.

            The Al Bhed girl shook her head.  "It can't be him.  Lady Yuna said that he was killed shortly after Sin was..."

            "Ra luimt pa yh unsent," pointed out a masculine voice.  A boy, looking somewhat similar to the girl, walked up beside her.  His goggles were also pushed up to keep his hair out of his eyes.  He had a somewhat typical Al Bhed outfit, as well.  He looked a lot like the girl.  The young man regarded Tidus curiously.

            There was a dead silence, causing the non-Al Bhed to get tense.  Finally, the one who twisted his arm spoke up, "Kaisa, Rylen, damm Cid ypuid drec. Ra'mm ghuf fryd du tu, yd maycd."

            The young man nodded and started off.  He grabbed the young woman's arm when he realized that she was still inspecting Tidus, dragging her off.

            "Eh dra sayh desa, E's mulgehk drec kio ib..."  Tidus's captor began to drag him away, but the boy determinedly tried to struggle from his grasp.

            "Ruf ihbnutildeja...ymmuf sa."

            Before he could register what was happening, he felt a strong blow being delivered to his stomach.  He let out a hiss before collapsing on the ground.

And everything went black.

---

            "Hey, you okay?"

            "Did someone get a license number on that chocobo…" Tidus mumbled incoherently, coming to.  He propped himself up on his elbows and looked up to see the girl from earlier.

            She gave him a funny look.  "Did you hit your head or something?"

            "You can understand me!?"  Tidus cheered and scrambled to his feet, tightly hugging the girl out of relief.

            She gasped for breath.  "Of course I can, dumbass," she managed to gasp out, "now let me go or I'll rip off your arms."

            That was enough to convince the young man.  He drew back, but still had a goofy smile on his face.  "What're you grinning at?" grumbled the girl, frowning.  She thought she knew what he was thinking and responded, "Look, I may be cute, but you're not my type."

            He snapped out of it.  "Oh, no…I wasn't…I mean, I've got a special someone…erm…"  He didn't like this girl already.  He smartly decided to change the subject.  "Well, errr…what's your name?"

            The girl placed her hands on her hips and replied, "Kaisa.  So are you actually that Tidus dude or what?"

            "That's me…"  He scratched the back of his head.  "But how did you know who I was?"

            "High Summoner Yuna told everyone you had died after Sin was destroyed," Kaisa responded.  "What I want to know is how you came back," she continued, without giving him a chance to respond.

            "Well…I'm…"

            "Are you an unsent?"

            "No…I'm not sure how I got back," he said quickly, seeing her mouth open again.

            "Well, anyway," she waved her hand dismissively, "Cid wants to see you.  C'mon."  She began to walk off, clearly expecting him to follow her.  Tidus considered stabbing her in the back out of frustration, but decided that it wasn't worth it and followed her.

---

            "Cid!  E ryja dra kio!"

            The Al Bhed leader turned around.  His eyes widened when they landed on Tidus.  "Holy shit, boy, is that you?"

            Tidus held back a grin.  "Yup."

            "Damn…how?"

            The boy felt himself growing sick of the question already.  "I don't know…I'm not an unsent or anything like that…I just sort of came back…"

            He let out a little "meep" as the man whisked him up into a tight bear hug.  Cid laughed cheerfully.  "Ah, well, as long as you're safe and well!  Glad to have you back, my boy!"

            "Cid, air," he managed to gasp.

            "…Oh, right.  Sorry."  He placed Tidus back down.  "So what brought you aboard the airship?"

            "Actually, I was looking for Rikku…"  It hadn't occurred to Tidus that he could have asked Cid where his niece was.

            "Ah.  You won't find her here.  She's in Zanarkand."

            Tidus blinked.  "Uh…'scuse me?"

            Cid chuckled.  "No one told you, did they, my boy?  The people of Spira joined together to rebuild Zanarkand, right after we rebuilt our Home."  He grinned.  "We used the memories of the people in the Farplane and history books to help us.  Maybe it'll look like _your_ Zanarkand did, eh?"

            He laughed nervously.  "Eh, yeah…"

            "Great.  I'll make a stop there for you.  It'll put us a little behind, but it's not a big deal."  He crossed his arms and looked at Kaisa.  "Kad Tidus cusa vuut."

            The girl didn't look too happy about it, but she obliged.  "Come on," she said to the former Guardian.  She started out of the bridge.

            Tidus looked back at Cid one last time before following.

~*~*~

Again, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.  I'm sorry that there isn't much action in this one…and I think I promised it too. ;;  I'll try to get it in the next one, all right? I didn't want to make this chapter too dreadfully long… (Even though it really isn't…oh well.)

For some reason, it won't show the hyperlinks for Kaisa and Rylen's outfits.  If you want to see sketches of what they look like, go to one of the links below.

http://celes.casey-baka.net/sketchkaisa.jpg

http://celes.casey-baka.net/sketchrylen.jpg

~ Laurzie ~


	3. Rikku

Author's Notes: Once again, I don't own the characters…you know this all now.

Again, since this is Rikku's chapter, there IS Al Bhed.  If you don't like it, deal with it…this MIGHT be the last chapter with Al Bhed…for a while, anyway. *cackles*

For future reference, I took the liberty of giving Brother his name in the Japanese version, Aniki.  Come on now, how likely is it that a guy's name would be "Brother"?  (Except for those Berinstein Bears books…be quiet!  It's nostalgia! :P)

The two mysterious blonde girls belong to Kelsey Martin.  Expect more guest appearances. :D

Also again, thanks for the reviews! :D

~*~*~

            "So, how long till we're in Zanarkand?" Tidus asked Kaisa for the umpteenth time.

            "Sunuh," the Al Bhed girl responded, a bit annoyed.  "In another ten minutes.  Be patient."

            He sighed and slumped in his seat.  "All right, all right."

            The two sat in silence before Kaisa spoke up.  "So, you had something going on with High Summoner Yuna, eh?"

            "Yeah…why?"

            "Did you ever…you know…"

            "Know what?"

            "Did you ever, well…"  A playful smile crossed her face.  "Tu ed?"

            Tidus blinked.  His Al Bhed was limited to only a few words and phrases: "cunno", "hela du saad oui", "rammu", "kuutpoa", and "E't mega du pio y suhgao".

            The clueless look on his face must have given him away, because Kaisa sighed and shook her head.  "Oh, nevermind."

            He shrugged it off, figuring it wasn't very important, anyway.  He gazed out the window.

            Kaisa gazed at him, deep in thought.  _Buun kio...E fuhtan ruf ra'mm dyga dra hafc..._  She sighed again, staring off into space as she thought to herself.  Her thinking was interrupted when a blitzball smacked her in the face.  "Fryd dra vilg!?"

            "Eteud.  Fa'na rana."  Rylen, who was her assaulter, placed his hands on his hips.

            "Oui _luimt_ ryja paah mega y _hunsym_ bancuh yht zicd cyet, 'Rao, fa'na rana,' ehcdayt uv yddylgehk sa," she snapped back.

            "Xied ouin frehehk!"

            "Um…'scuse me," Tidus tried to interrupt, but without success.

            "E ys _hud_ frehehk!"

"Dryd'c y pihlr uv pimm!"

"EXCUSE ME!" he said loudly.  Both Al Bheds' heads swiveled towards him.  "Thanks…are you guys siblings or something?"

"Fraternal twins," they said in unison.

"Of course, we know who the _better_ half is," Rylen commented, glaring at his sister.

"Peda sa!"

"Hey, hey, hey!  Stop that!"

The two continued to quarrel.  Tidus exhaled deeply and stepped around them, intent on finding someone who could tell him where in Zanarkand Rikku was.

--

            It took him a while, but the blitzer finally found someone who knew where she was.  Albeit the description was discreet ("She should be at the blitz stadium," he said), he figured he'd manage.

            As soon as he stepped off of the airship and into the city, his eyes widened.  It looked exactly as he had remembered it.  _I wonder how they got it this perfect…_

The familiar sound of cheering and whistling filled his ears.  He perked up.  There was a blitz game going on!  He knew instantly that he couldn't miss the chance of seeing a blitz game in his "home" stadium, and began sprinting in its direction.

            He slowed down as he reached the entrance, the grin on his face never faltering.  The only problem was that he didn't have enough gil to get into the game.  Pretty much all of it would be needed to feed himself or to get himself a temporary roof over his head.

            _No problem,_ Tidus thought, finding an easy way to sneak in.  He used to sneak into blitzball games all the time when he was younger.  He made his way to the A-section seats, looking around for an empty one.

            By some miracle he had found one.  He excused himself as he shuffled through the crowd of blitz fans.  He made his way to the seat, but didn't sit down; after all, the game was about to start.  He wouldn't be sitting long anyway.

            "Who's playing today?" Tidus asked the person to his right.  He immediately recognized him as Jumal, a blitzer himself.

            "The Zanarkand Duggles and the Guado Glories," Jumal responded without paying him any heed.  As the teams entered the arena he joined in with the rest of the crowd, whistling and yelling like crazy.

            Tidus turned to see the teams himself.  The players were getting into their starting positions.  He squinted and leaned forward a bit, thinking that he recognized one of the players.

            It wasn't until the game had started and the player was swimming towards the goal that it hit him.

            The player was Rikku.

            And she was pretty damn good.

--

            The game was an intense one.  The Glories had improved a bit since Tidus had played against them.  They managed to keep the score close, which was hard against the Duggle defense.  Still, the Duggles beat them, 6 to 4.

As for Rikku, she seemed to be the Duggles' leading scorer.  _I wonder why she never told me she was a blitzer?_ the boy mused.  He shrugged it off and slipped through the masses, heading towards the familiar locker rooms.  He was surprised that there wasn't any security around, as there used to be several guards around the locker rooms.

He reached them about ten minutes later, figuring that by now most of the team would have changed and ran off to celebrate.  He didn't bother knocking as he entered the locker room.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Tidus's face turned into a mixture of shock and embarrassment.  Rikku stood before him in her underwear, trying to cover herself up.  Both were red in the face.

She realized who it was.  "Tidus!?"

"Yeah, I'm back, and no, I don't know how…"

He expected her to run up and tackle him in a hug, but unfortunately, her reaction was less than pleasant.  Before he knew it, a mop was repeatedly thwacking him on the head.  "Ow!  Ow!  Ow!  Rikku, stop it!"

"Never, _ever_ do that again!" she was shouting.  "I could have been stark naked, you stupid pervert!"

"It was an accident!" he yelped, wincing.  "I didn't mean it, honest!"

She stopped thwacking him.  Muttering, "E'mm hajan ihtancdyht sah," she dropped the mop and headed back to her locker to finish changing.  Tidus sheepishly rubbed the sore spots on his head.  He waited until her familiar outfit was back on before he asked, "Do you know where Yuna went off to?"

Rikku stopped in the middle of putting her things in her locker.  Her back was towards him, so he couldn't see her expression.  Her voice sounded sort of strained as she replied, "You're a bit fast.  Why don't we catch up a bit first…?"

"Wakka and Lulu said that you'd tell me about Yuna," he said flatly.

"How are Wakka and Lulu, anyway?  I haven't seen them in a while.  Oh, but aren't their kids just adorable?  You know, Lulu is expecting her baby to be born any day now…"

It was evident that she was trying to avoid the topic.  "Rikku, please.  Just tell me where to find Yuna…"

"Oh, hey, how about going out to eat?  I'm not doing anything tonight anyway.  I'd like to hear about the Farplane…"

Tidus did end up going out to eat with Rikku at a wonderful bar and grill called Apuberu's.  He tried to get her to open up about Yuna a few times, but each time she'd get onto a different subject to avoid answering.

Finally, after they paid and were on the way towards the inn, Tidus turned to her and said, "Tomorrow morning I'm going to go to Mount Gagazet.  Maybe Kimahri will tell me what I need to know."

Rikku appeared to be unnerved.  Tidus almost smirked in satisfaction.  Kimahri wouldn't lie about Yuna's situation.  "Well," she said finally, "you can't go to Gagazet on your own."  He expected her to offer to go with him.  Instead, she said, "I'll see if my pop can recruit a few people to go along with you.  I'd go, but I've…got some other things to take care of."

"Oh…"  Tidus shrugged.  By that time they had reached the inn, and he took a step inside.  He wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over something.  More specifically, someone.

"OW!" a young voice shouted.  Before Tidus could register what was happening, he felt sharp teeth sinking into his arm and someone kicking him hard in the shin.  He cried out in pain, and barely caught sight of a young Al Bhed girl, with very short hair and a braid on the right side of her face.

He frowned, about to comment, when he heard muffled laughter behind him.  He turned to face Rikku, scowling slightly.  "And what was so funny about _that?_"

"Nothing," she mumbled around her giggles.  Tidus sighed and shook his head.

"Ahhh…so the rumors are true," a familiar voice spoke up.  He saw Rin approaching him, with his usual calm, mysterious smile.  "I had heard that you came back to life, Sir Tidus, but I wasn't sure I believed.  Kmyt du ryja oui pylg."

He gave a small smile.  "Kook-um-ay-teh day-ooh ray-Jay-ahh ohooee pay-luge to you, too," he responded.  Both Rikku and Rin winced at the terrible dialect.  "Hey, Rin, I need a place to stay for the night…how much is it?"

"Well, since I know you personally, I'll give you a discount."  Rin smiled and said, "2,310 gil."

Tidus gaped at him.  "Are you _kidding_ me!?"

"A man has to provide for himself and his family," he responded simply.  "You don't want my children to starve, do you?"

"O-Of course not," the twenty-one year old stammered.  He gulped and took out his Gil.

Rin swiped half of it out of his hands.  "Thank you, sir.  You're patronage is very much

appreciated."

            Tidus squeaked, but before he could say anything else both Rin and Rikku were pushing him towards his room.  "Now, now, you'll need a _good_ night's rest for tomorrow!" chirped Rikku.

            "That's right!  You know what they say…"  Rin didn't finish.  At that point they pushed him into the room, closing the door behind them.  He could hear Rin saying to Rikku, "Cu fryd yna dra bmyhc vun duhekrd?"

            "E't mega du kad cusa cmaab, dryhgc," she responded dryly.

            "Oui'na hu vih," he teased.

            "Yht oui haat du kad ouin seht uid uv dra kiddan...drana YNA lremtnah ynuiht, tayn."

            "Nekrd, cunno."

            He was planning on eavesdropping more, but heard some strange sounds in the bathroom.  He froze for a moment.  _Is someone else in here!?_  Very slowly he crept towards the bathroom.

            Once again, he barely caught sight of a young girl flying past him.  This one was also a young Al Bhed girl, although her hair was in a ponytail with the front section on the left braided and the front section on the right hanging down.  From what he saw she looked remarkably like the first girl, but then, he only had a few seconds to look at her.

            _I hope she didn't do something that'll make me pay even more money,_ he thought.  He headed towards the bed, not thinking of checking the bathroom.

            Little did he know, the girl had planted a cherry bomb under the toilet seat.

**            _BOOM!_**

            Tidus jumped at the sound.  Realization spread across his face.  _That came from MY bathroom…_  He was almost afraid to see the damage, but he forced himself to see.

            "Oh, _no!_" he moaned, smacking himself on the forehead.  The cherry bomb had completely demolished the toilet, leaving nothing but the pipes spouting water from them.  It was needless to say that there was a huge mess, and quite unnecessary to describe.

            "What's happened?" he heard Rin ask.  He froze as the inn's owner walked up behind him.  In the bathroom mirror he saw Rin's expression go from worried curiousity to seething anger.  "Cuh uv y vilgehk pedlr!"

            "I-It's not my fault!" Tidus yelped.

            Rin glared at him.  "If this is payback for the cost of this room, then dammit, it _didn't work!_  You think that because you got it on with High Summoner Yuna you can do whatever you damn well please?  It doesn't work that way, pycdynt!  That's gonna add 1,990 gil to your fee!"

            "But it wasn't…"

            "Don't even try to lie your way out of this."

            Tidus whined slightly before taking out his gil.  Again, Rin took half of it and muttered to himself as he left, "Dra cuuhan ra mayjac, dra paddan.  Rikku gabd cdnyhka lusbyho..."

            The boy scratched his head and sighed before retiring to his temporary bed.  He drifted off to sleep, wondering how he would manage with the little gil he had left…

~*~*~

Please leave any comments and constructive criticism so I can make myself better. D  Oh, and here are the "mysterious blonde girls" portraits.

http://chozo.virtue.nu/artwork/chaika.jpg

http://chozo.virtue.nu/artwork/new_chayaki_portrait.jpg

~ Laurzie ~


	4. Kimahri

Author's Notes: I'm not going to repeat that again. :D

Oh, and I lied…there's some Al Bhed in this chapter.  Whoops.  Just goes to show you that you should never take my words too seriously. *giggle*

And again, thanks for the reviews!  I feel so loved. ^.^

~*~*~

"Hey…"

            Tidus lazily opened one eye.  He was too tired to question what Kaisa was doing in his room, or even how she got there.  The girl was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.  She looked a bit concerned.  "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah," he responded, rubbing his eyes.  "Besides having most of my gil taken."

            Kaisa shrugged.  "Rin'll do that to you."  She walked over and sat on the bed.  "Anyway, Cid told me that I was supposed to go with you to Mount Gagazet."

            "Great," he muttered under his breath.

            "What'd you say?"

            "Nothing, nothing!"

            She nodded.  "All right then.  We leave immediately."

            "I don't get to sleep a little longer?"

            "No."

            "Dammit," he cursed to himself.  He slowly got to his feet, picking up his sword, and followed her out of the room.

            "Kuut milg, Kaisa!"

            "Dryhgc!" she responded, smiling at the two twin girls.  Tidus noticed that the girls had blue eyes instead of the usual green Al Bhed eyes.

            "Pnehk ic pylg cusa bnacahdc!" the girl with the ponytail piped.

            "Oayr! Mudc!" the short haired girl chimed in.

            Kaisa chuckled and said, "E'mm caa fryd E lyh tu."  She looked over at the counter and waved, "Mydan, Rin! Yht damm Rikku poa vun sa!"

            Rin nodded, not looking up from his magazine.  "Oib. Ryja vih." He did take enough time to look up and glare at Tidus.  "Vaam vnaa du gelg rec ycc ev ra tuac yhodrehk cicbeleuic."

            She sighed and shook her head.  "Frydajan."  She gave one last wave before turning to leave.

            Once they were out of the inn, Tidus turned to her and asked, "Who were those two little girls?"

            "Chaika and Chayaki," Kaisa responded.  "You can tell them apart because Chayaki has short hair."

            "Oh."  Tidus was tempted to tell her about the cherry bomb in the toilet, but thought it'd be wise to conveniently not mention it.

            The two walked in an uncomfortable silence to the entrance of the caves of Gagazet.  When they got there, Kaisa paused to check her inventory.  She glanced sideways at Tidus.  "You properly equipped and everything?"

            "Yes, mother," he teased lightly.

She rolled her eyes at him and equipped the proper armor on herself.  "Let's go then."

"Ma'am," he responded, mocking her slightly.  She appeared not to notice.

They encountered a few fiends on the way, defeating them without too much trouble.  Tidus had to admit that the Al Bhed was a skilled fighter with her katal.  She had also learned a bit of black and white magic, but they were all low level spells.

So, naturally, they were screwed when they ran into a Behemoth.

"Cred," Kaisa exclaimed, looking panicked. "Ur cred, ur cred, urcredurcredurcred..."

"Awwwww, DAMMIT!" Tidus groaned.  "Where's an aeon when you need one?"  He forgot momentarily that the fayth had disappeared after Yevon's defeat.

The Al Bhed took one look at him and said, "_Run._"

"Don't have to tell me twice!"  He grabbed her wrist and started sprinting off as fast as he could.  She seemed to keep up with him pretty easily, as amazing as it might have seemed.

Unfortunately, so did the Behemoth.

"We're not going to last much longer if we keep running!" Kaisa gasped out.

Tidus gripped the hilt of the Caladbolg.  "Then we'll have to fight as long as we can!"  He stopped running, only to have the Behemoth slam into him from behind.

Kaisa gasped, quickly using an Al Bhed Potion on him before attacking it herself.  The beast howled and whipped itself around, striking her across her trunk and abdomen.  She grunted and doubled over in pain.  Tidus knew that she had rendered unconscious, and was forced to make a decision: fight the Behemoth and risk both of their lives, or try to run from it again in an attempt to save the both of them.

He decided on the latter.  Quickly scooping up her body in his arms, he sprinted faster than he ever had in his life away from the Behemoth.  He saw the entrance of the cave and nearly cried out in joy, knowing that he'd be safer once he got there.  The fiend was still hot on his tracks, though.

_Just a little further,_ he repeated over and over to himself.  _You'll be home free in a few yards…_

He burst through the entrance of the cave, just barely ahead of the Behemoth.  He took note that a plethora of Ronso was at the opening, and all of them immediately began attacking the fiend.

Being the graceful swordsmen he was, he stumbled and toppled over while that distracted him.  When he had finally stopped rolling, he discovered that he had lost his grip on his companion and was now kneeling over top of her.  His mind went blank, rendering him stupid for a while.

_She's awfully pretty,_ his mind was telling him.  Her lips were parted and, although she was out cold, they seemed to be inviting him to kiss them.

Tidus shook his head.  _It doesn't matter.  I love Yuna.  Nothing can change that._  He gazed at Kaisa.  _Besides, you KNOW that if you started something with anyone other than Yuna that they'd only be used as a weak substitute.  What's the point?_  He rolled away and turned his attention to the Ronso.  They had seemed to defeat the Behemoth without much trouble, and were now in the process of healing each other.

"Girl okay?" a deep voice asked.  Tidus looked up to see Kimahri's familiar face, but the Ronso didn't appear to be surprised that the young man was back.  "Tidus seem fine.  No injuries?"

"Nah, I'm fine.  She," he added, jerking his head in Kaisa's direction, "seems fine, but I don't know.  Might want to check her out…I'm no medical expert, y'know."

Kimahri nodded.  "Kimahri get Bur and Nuy to help girl.  Tidus stay until Zev is done.  Zav escort Tidus to a place to rest."

"I can walk fine, Kimahri," Tidus pointed out.

"Kimahri not want Tidus to hurt self.  Tidus could be hurt but not know.  Tidus stay safer this way."  The Ronso turned and began to walk away.  He stopped just long enough to say to Tidus, "Kimahri will visit Tidus later."

"Ummm…bye!"  He scratched the back of his head.  His tall, cat-like friend was still as aloof as ever.

--

            A few hours later, Kimahri set foot inside the cave that the two humans were in.  Tidus looked up from his spot by the fire and gave him a small grin.  The Ronso didn't respond, instead staring in Kaisa's direction.  "How bad?" he asked Nuy.

            "Cuts, not too deep," Nuy responded.  He looked down at Kaisa's sleeping form.  "May leave scars.  Not serious."

            "Good.  You leave."

            Nuy regarded his superior curiously, but nodded and rose, leaving the cave to the three of them.  Kimahri approached the young woman cautiously before settling down next to her.  He kept a watchful eye on her, much like he did when he was guarding Yuna.

            Kaisa stirred.  Her eyes slowly opened.  As she adjusted to her surroundings, she shivered.  "It's cold," she murmured, clutching the blanket that was around her tightly.

            Kimahri said nothing; he just pulled the girl into a sitting position and pulled her in to his side.  He wrapped one massive arm around her to help her get warm.  He gazed over at Tidus.  "You come too."

            "Errr…okay."  Tidus made his way to them and sat next to Kimahri.  He was a little reluctant to let him wrap his furry arm around his shoulders, in case someone should walk in and get the wrong impression, but decided that it was too cold to worry about that sort of thing.  "So, uh, Kimahri…"

            "Quiet.  Girl sleeping."

            "Oh…"  Tidus lowered his voice.  "Kimahri, where's Yuna?"

            "Yuna in Bevelle," Kimahri responded.  "Working hard to restore order to Spira.  Yuna maintaining new groups."

            "New groups?"

            "No more Yevon.  People not know where to turn.  Many go to New Yevon."

            "Oh…okay."  That was all that Tidus needed to know.  He decided that he'd go to Bevelle, preferably alone.  In the mean time, he figured that he might as well catch up on the times with Kimahri.  "I see that Gagazet has really come back."

            Kimahri nodded.  "Took long time to repopulate."

            Tidus looked over.  "Now that Kelk is gone, who is your leader?"

            "Kimahri is."

            "Oh, cool…is that because of your being a guardian to Yuna and all?"

            The Ronso sat in silence for a while.  "Kimahri has the most mates."

            "WHAT!?"

            He grunted and started to explain, "Ancient way of Ronso.  Ronso with most mates would be alpha male.  Not used for several centuries."

            Tidus made a face.  "So how many mates do you have…?"

            "Fourteen.  Forty-six pups."

            "But Kimahri, isn't that wrong…?  I mean, don't you think that you should only have one mate…?"

            "One mate, Ronso population not grow.  Several, Ronso population skyrocket."  Kimahri grunted again.  "Now that Ronso population is up, Kimahri settled down with permanent mate.  If Ronso population go down, Kimahri have more mates."

            _That's just sick,_ Tidus found himself thinking.  He felt guilty, but it was just so…different than how humans did things.  It was sort of a relief that he had found a "permanent mate".  He just hoped that the Ronso population didn't go down anytime soon.

--

            "Tidus be okay?"

            "Yeah, I'll be fine.  Thanks, Kimahri."

            "Kimahri will go along if Tidus need help," the Ronso pointed out.  "Calm Lands hard to get across alone."

            He waved his hand dismissively.  "Don't worry about it.  I'll get a chocobo and I'll be fine.  Just make sure you get Kaisa back to Rin's place, alright?"

            "Kimahri understand."

            The blonde grinned and waved before turning and walking away, towards the Calm Lands.

~*~*~

Comments and constructive criticism are welcome.  I'd be grateful if you guys would review…I'd like to know what parts of the story you like or how I can improve my writing style. ^^

Sorry this is a short chapter.  I'm having writer's block. o_x;;

~ Laurzie ~


End file.
